Warwickshire people can find out more about £90 million savings plan

People across Warwickshire are being invited to attend a special session with senior councillors on the county council to find out more about how savings of £90 million are to be made over the next four years.
Warwickshire County Council.Warwickshire County Council.
Warwickshire County Council.

Council leader Cllr Izzi Seccombe and deputy leader Cllr Alan Cockburn are leading the session at Shire Hall in Warwick on Wednesday (October 30) from 6pm to 8pm, when people will also have a chance to ask them questions and find out more about some of the difficult decisions which will have to be made.

This ‘question time’ session concludes a series of roadshows currently taking place across the county, which have enabled Cllrs Seccombe and Cockburn and members of the council’s cabinet to go out and talk to people to help them understand more about the scale of the savings and find out which services are important to them.

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Cllr Seccombe said: “The roadshows and this session at Shire Hall are proving to be an excellent way to engage with members of the public and have meaningful conversations about the issues we face.

“I want to help people understand some of the issues we face, the services we provide and to communicate our priorities, which are to protect our most vulnerable citizens, deliver efficient and effective services, and seek opportunities for economic growth.

“I am also interested to hear what people think and what they would do if faced with similar decisions. The budget setting exercises online and available at the roadshows will help us capture some of this information. Information from these sessions will be considered as we begin to shape our budget proposals ahead of February 2014.”

Those unable to attend will be able to watch footage of the session online afterwards.

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The remaining roadshows in the south of the county take place tomorrow (Saturday October 26) at Wellesbourne market at Wellesbourne Airfield and on Tuesday (October 29) at the Royal Priors in Leamington from 9.30am to 12.30pm.

As well as these, people can see how the council’s base budget is spent and suggest how they think money could be saved by looking at an online budget calculator.

The software allows users to adjust the budget and also shows the impact their spending decisions would have on local services, such as road maintenance to looking after the vulnerable.

Anyone who is a Warwickshire resident and has access to the internet can use the budget simulator and submit their responses online.

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Those who do not have access to a home computer can get involved by using computers at their local library.

A hard copy version of the budget calculator is also available at the roadshows and in libraries and other locations around the county.

To see the calculator, visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/letstalk

To book a place at the session at Shire Hall on Tuesday, call 414142 or visit warwickshirecountycouncil.eventbrite.co.uk

Questions and comments can also be submitted via Twitter @wcc_news